Man of the Moment

A screwball comedy with a British accent, Man of the Moment takes an original premise that is darkly realistic and carries it through to a madcap if predictable conclusion that satisfies more than anything because of the fine acting of its leads.

Mary,(Laura La Plante) is a secretary whose crush on her boss comes to a horrible end when he demotes her so he can promote a girl he's dating. Despondent, she resolves to throw herself in the Thames River. Along comes Tony, (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) to rescue her on the eve of his wedding . He now feels responsible for her and takes her home. She is still determined to end it all, so he can't let her out of his sight. Did I mentioned that he was getting married?

It's all predictable, but the acting of the leads and the comedy of the supporting cast make it enjoyable.

Fairbanks is, of course, charmingly dashing and sincerely devil-may-care, He is the perfect straight man for an assortment of comic characters. La Plante is a delightful surprise. She plays a kind of multiple personality that is part poor working girl and part elfin sprite. Her energy makes the improbable story probable. She even does a passable boy when she dresses in drag to crash Tony's stag party.

The rest of the cast - Claude Hulbert as a goofy friend in love with Tony's fiancé; Margaret Lockwood as a devious fiancé who cries at the slightest provocation and Peter Gawthorne as her long-suffering father carry the screwball element with something of a music-hall touch.

All in all a frothy bubbly harmless way to enjoy an hour or so.

A lot of the recent TCM rediscoveries (and U.S. premieres!) of Warners' British productions from the 1930's are turning out to be quite good movies and not the cheap, reviled "quota quickies" of legend. This is one of them, a charming British foray into the screwball genre with some of the same sexual cheekiness American productions of the so-called "pre-Code" era (1930-34): the heroine spends a good chunk of the film in male drag and the bridal suite actually has a double bed. It's quite a bit slower than a U.S. version of the same story would have been, Margaret Lockwood's crying jags get tiresome (she'd go on to be a major British star and is best known as the female lead in Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes") and some musical underscoring would have helped, but on the whole this is a clever and amusing film. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., who in his American films in the period was sometimes cast in roles that were beyond his acting skills, is perfectly cast here and delivers a memorable comic performance, and after seeing (and being unimpressed by) some of Laura LaPlante's late silent and early talkie performances at Universal, I was pleasantly surprised by her work here and disappointed only by her utter lack of a British accent. (I kept expecting to hear a bit of dialogue explaining that she was an American stranded in Britain and forced to take a secretarial job there to survive.) Let's hope the other 27 surviving Teddington productions get shown here soon!

We owe Turner Classic Movies yet another debt for showing, for the first time in 2007 a remastered version of this fine screwball comedy from Warner Brothers. I didn't know that screwballs were made in England during their heyday in the United States. The film is a little light on laughs, but it is pleasant throughout, and the acting is exceptional. Here are 29-year-old Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and 31-year-old Laura La Plante playing roles that would expect from, say, Melvin Douglas and Jean Arthur. Laura was at the end of her 87-movie career, and her performance in this film reveals what an excellent actress she was. I'm saving the film for my collection, as an example of how good even "B" films could be in the golden age of movies.

"Man of the Moment" stars one of my favorite actors, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Laura LaPlante. I can just hear my mother now if I told her I saw a film with Laura LaPlante. "LAURA LAPLANTE?" indicating that it's an ancient name. I guess it is, since she was a silent film star and pretty much quit films in 1935.

LaPlante plays Mary, a secretary who is in love with her boss. After another employee basically tells her she has nothing to look forward to in life except an expanding waistline and an old face, she finds out that her boss is having an affair with another coworker.

Mary leaves the office and throws herself in the river. To her dismay, she's rescued by Tony (Fairbanks) who insists upon bringing her back to his place to dry off. She has nothing to fear from him, he says. He's getting married tomorrow. His bride-to-be is Vera, played by Margaret Lockwood.

Mary doesn't want to stay but her attempt to sneak out fails, and then there's a big engagement party. She disguises herself as a waiter by slicking down her hair but she falls asleep on the couch. The next morning, Vera sees her in the house and breaks off her engagement.

Tony is now as miserable as Mary. He's completely broke. He decides to go to Monte Carlo to win some money, and he wants her to come along. He makes a deal with her. If he doesn't win, he'll jump into the river with her. She agrees.

Cute comedy with good acting by all involved, but it's nothing special. LaPlante's role was definitely a natural for Claudette Colbert or Marion Davies. LaPlante, however, acquitted herself well. Fairbanks, as the dashing and sophisticated Tony, is wonderful. He was an underrated actor, in my opinion, and today, when many performances no longer hold up, his do.

LaPlante made the transition to talkies but by 1935, she was sick of movie-making. She had a 51-year marriage to producer Irving Asher. It turned out to be a nice life. She died at 92 from Alzheimer's disease.

This is a good showcase for her talent. Recommended for the performances.

Both stars of Man of the Moment had started in silent films; The dashing Douglas Fairbanks Jr (Gunga Din, Stella Dallas) stars as Tony, who is about to get married. The film begins as Tony stops Mary from drowning herself. The girl, who he calls "Nuisance", is played by Laura LaPlante ( MANY silent films, Cat & the Canary, Showboat) The fun but typical hijinks and misunderstandings follow, and now his marriage to the silly, young rich girl Vera (Margaret Lockwood, Man in Grey, Alibi) is in jeopardy when her father gets involved. Fun romp, but the plot does involve suicide, gambling, drinking, and other violations of the Hays code, so that may explain why it's not shown very often, although other movies with those elements are shown all the time. The director Monty Banks, also plays the flirtatious doctor in the film. Ironically, the actor playing the father of the rich girl, Peter Gawthorne seems to have gotten his start in Hollywood much later than the younger cast, but always played positions of authority, the police captain, the Lord, the Judge. The writer of the play, Yves Mirande, had also written and directed the 1940 version of Moulin Rouge. There is also another film titled "Man of the Moment" from 1955, but it does not appear at all related to this film.